Experience

Believe in Students

• United States
• Non-profit Organizations
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Executive Director

  • Apr 2020 - Present



Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service

• Des Moines, Iowa

• Commissioner

  • Jun 2013 - Jun 2020



College Possible

• United States
• Non-profit Organization Management
• 300 - 400 Employee

• Chief Program Officer

  • Dec 2014 - Feb 2020

  I’m often asked why I am so passionate about the work I do. One of the things I love about this country is the promise that people are supposed to have the opportunity to go as far as their talents and their motivation will take them. Yet, too often that promise goes unfulfilled. When I came to College Possible, I looked at it as a way to do my part to make sure we as a nation are living up to the promise of opportunity.College Possible is where I have made my mark as a leader, a program designer, and an expert in the field of college access and success. When I arrived, the organization then known as Admission Possible, was off to a strong start with a core group of local supporters and a small staff of passionate, idealistic leaders. Over my decade and a half as a leader of this effort, I have helped navigate the organization through consistent, dramatic growth; created a program with a robust evidence base that has been repeatedly recognized as one of the best in the country; and developed a cadre of leaders in education and related services who are contributing to changing the education landscape in Minnesota and beyond. And we are seeing the results of this work: in Minnesota alone we have supported over 2000 college graduates, many of whom are now leaders in the business, nonprofit, and government sectors. You can read about some of them at www.collegepossible.org/stories. Show less

• Director of Programming and Evaluation

  • Sep 2010 - Nov 2014



Humphrey Institute Policy Fellows Program

• Fellow

  • Sep 2006 - Jun 2007



Caliber Associates

• United States
• Biotechnology
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Senior Associate

  • 2001 - 2004

  As a public sector consultant, I fed my passion as a learner by contributing to a wide range of projects in education and human services--everything from studying community coalitions, to designing an evaluation for a national education non-profit, to developing and leading trainings on the intersection between child welfare and substance abuse agencies. This role afforded me opportunities to hone skills in business development, client communications, and project management. I learned the connection between education and professional development, and grew as an analyst and strategic thinker. Because project teams were constantly shifting, I learned how to pull together strong teams, and how to be a manager and leader of people from my most influential professional mentor. And I gained strong proposal writing skills, learning from a team of professionals about the combination of grant writing and personal relationships that help yield results. Show less



Cypress-Fairbanks ISD

• High School Spanish Teacher

  • 1994 - 1998

  This is where my career and passion for changing the way we think about education began. I got my first shot at thinking about systems, recognizing the ways teaching and learning are shaped around school structures and policies, rather than having those systems built to support good teaching and learning. This role laid my foundation to become a comfortable public speaker, a strong communicator, a developer of people, and a collaborative colleague. My launch into the world of systems change and development had begun. Recognizing my goal, I left teaching to get my Masters in Public Policy with an emphasis in Education Policy. Show less